Letters of a Nation: A Collection of Extraordinary American Letters » (Reprint)

Andrew Carroll is the executive director of the American Poetry & Literacy Project, a national nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that promotes literacy and encourages a greater public awareness of poetry. The author of several books, he lives in Washington, D.C.

Marian Wright Edelman is the founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund, as well as the author of the New York Times #1 bestseller The Measure of Our Success.

As the United States expanded, the number of letters that were sent around it increased, transmitted via Pony Express, Postal Service, and even email. Letters of a Nation collects more than 200 of these missives, posted by presidents and prisoners, and touching on topics from love to political contempt. These letters trace the history of a country, and speak volumes about their crafters' homeland.

Booknews

A collection of some 200 letters by Presidents, slaves, soldiers, prisoners, revolutionaries, artists, religious and civil rights leaders, and Americans from all walks of life, spanning 350 years of American culture and history. Letters offer eyewitness accounts of political and social upheaval, reveal private fears of the famous and powerful, and remind us of the horrors of war. Writers include Malcolm X, Elvis Presley, Eleanor Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, and Benjamin Franklin.